Bribie Island Caravan ParkWayne Kampe | First Published: October 2004

HERE’S a caravan park and camping ground that is literally just across the road from the beach – and what a beach it is! It’s one of the best for whiting in southern Queensland.

Situated around 80m from the northern surf beach on Bribie Island, the Bribie Island Caravan Park offers the sort of peace and tranquillity that comes from being close enough to hear the waves breaking at night. Best of all, this caravan park is tucked away in a location that sees very little through traffic, so road noise is virtually non-existent most times.

GETTING THERE

This neat camping venue is located in the Bribie Island suburb of Woorim. Bribie Island is around an hour’s drive north of Brisbane, with main exits well signed on the Bruce Highway opposite the exit to Caboolture. Take the exit onto Bribie Island Road, and after about 15 minutes’ drive you’ll see the span of the Bribie Island Bridge coming into view. After you’ve crossed the bridge, just follow the main through-roads, Goodwin Drive and First Avenue, to the northern side of the island to Woorim. Just before you reach the end of First Avenue at Woorim you’ll see a sign on the left pointing the way to the caravan park. The main entrance of the park at the corner of Second Avenue and Jacana Avenue.

YOUR STAY

The Bribie Island Caravan Park (ph. 1800 649 831 or (07) 3408 1134 or email --e-mail address hidden-- has a very user-friendly layout. I particularly liked the colourful entrance with its eye-catching display of shrubs and trees.

Once you have registered at the office, you’ll find there are plenty of options regarding sites, whether for a camper, caravan, or tent. There are plenty of shade trees about as well, which will appeal during the warmer months.

The wildlife here is interesting. The park is home to quite a few friendly birds – lorikeets, honey eaters, pigeons and the odd magpie, along with a robust population of cheeky scrub turkeys which just strut about as though they have paid the rent well in advance!

The main features for visitors at the caravan park include a great swimming pool, a neatly set up camp kitchen and BBQ area, a separate entertainment hall and mini-golf and mini-tennis areas. There are also air-conditioned en suite villas, cabins with TV and kitchen, a cottage, and plenty of nice level sites, both powered and un-powered.

As part of the park’s clean and well-kept amenities area, special provision has been made for parents of young children, with a babies’ bathroom available. Disabled facilities and a laundromat are also provided. Also of interest are the Internet corner, the public telephone and a campervan waste dump point.

In all, this four-star rated park offers a great mix of spacious layout, very quiet location, enough user-friendly features to make a visitor feel really at home, plus the easygoing island atmosphere that’s a part of Bribie Island living.

Anglers have it particularly good at this venue, but there are also plenty of things for non-fishing visitors to enjoy, including the RSL, golf courses, surf and bowls clubs and modern restaurants. Nearly all amenities and services are available on Bribie Island, from medical to mechanics. For bait and tackle you can visit the shop next to the surf shop in North Street at Woorim, or the sports store on Wellsby Parade at Bongaree over on the inland side of the island, near the jetty.

WHITING ON THE GO

This month, and right through spring and into summer, big whiting are the most sought-after fish on the island. If you’re looking to bag a feed of really big whiting, that surf beach within a short walk of the caravan park (via Second Avenue) is one of the best spots around. In fact, this beach, and those of nearby Woody Bay and Red Beach just around to the south, are renowned for these succulent and strong fighting fish. Woody Bay and Red Beach can be accessed via Arcadia Avenue, which runs past the golf course and ends in an unsealed road with beach access at several points.

Although I live on the Southside of Brisbane I have made many pilgrimages to Bribie Island’s surf beaches to fish for whiting in Octobers past, when conditions were favourable. A light southeast or easterly breeze on a making tide just after daylight or towards dusk is the clue to hot action. While skinny wriggler worms (now hard to come by with foreshore digging restrictions) are by far the best bait for whiting at Bribie, there’s nothing wrong with beach worms so long as they are alive and kicking. (OK, alive and wriggling.)

After you have cast out the bait, don’t retrieve the line if you want to catch a larger fish. The big fellows seem to prefer a stationary bait over a moving one.

OTHER SPECIES

Another fish for shore-based anglers is the flathead, which are much sought-after on the calm water (Pumicestone Passage) side of the island. As the weather warms more and more, boating anglers should be out looking for mackerel around the shipping beacons to the east of the island. Boat ramps are on the calm (inside) section of the island.

Bribie Island Caravan Park is a great venue for keen anglers, and fishing from the beach here can offer some interesting experiences due to the presence of the deep water on the northern end of the island. There are very few places around Southeast Queensland where you can see tuna and mackerel chopping within spinner range of a beach, but Bribie Island is one of them. While you’re fishing for whiting along the front it certainly pays to have a heavy tackle spin rod set up with a spinner and ready for quick use, because the big fellows can burst through the surface at any time.

Beach access for fishing up along the ocean beach is allowed if you have a vehicle permit. Permits are available at several places on the island, and the caravan park staff can give you information on where to get one.

[CAPTIONS]

1) The neat entrance to the Bribie Island Caravan Park is a colourful, eye catching affair and sets the standard for the park in many ways.

2) Beach fishing anyone? The magnificent Bribie Island surf beach is within easy walking distance of the caravan park. Whiting are much sought this month.

3) A big swimming pool is sure to be popular with visitors on a hot day.

4) You don’t need your own tent or van to enjoy a stay at the Bribie Island Caravan Park. Neat villas are featured and are popular with visitors.